Feature Photo: Bill McKibben Heats Up Finney

Noted environmentalist and 350.org founder Bill McKibben delivers a talk titled “The Hottest Fight in the Hottest Year” Thursday night in Finney Chapel. To McKibben, the climate crisis could not be more urgent. “2014 was the hottest year we recorded, until 2015 smashed that record, until 2016 smashed that record,” McKibben said. “If we do not solve it fast, we do not solve it.” 350.org is a global grassroots organization that has organized rallies concerning climate change in every country except North Korea. The group advocates for taking steps to lower the amount of carbon dioxide in the world from 400 parts per million to 350 parts per million, the threshold that many scientists regard as the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The talk took place as part of the After Fossil Fuels: The Next Economy conference, based primarily at The Hotel at Oberlin. Other conference participants include Arnold Schwarzenegger and Next-Gen Climate founder Tom Steyer, who will take part in a discussion open to the public titled “Justice on a Hotter Planet” in the Apollo Theatre at 8:30 tonight.